(a)(1) The Chesapeake Bay has been identified as an impaired
water body due to excessive nutrients entering the bay from various
sources in six states, including wastewater facilities in West
Virginia. To restore the Chesapeake Bay, the states have agreed to
reduce their respective nutrient contributions to the Chesapeake
Bay.

(2) The Greenbrier River Watershed in southeastern West
Virginia which encompasses approximately 1,646 square miles, the
majority of which lies within Pocahontas, Greenbrier, Monroe and
Summers counties, has been identified as an impaired water body due
to excessive levels of fecal coliform and phosphorus entering the
watershed from various sources, including wastewater facilities in
West Virginia. To restore the Greenbrier River Watershed, the state
agrees to reduce the fecal coliform and phosphorus contributions to
the Greenbrier River Watershed.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the Water Development Authority may issue, in accordance
with the provisions of section seventeen of this article,
infrastructure lottery revenue bonds payable from the West Virginia
Infrastructure Lottery Revenue Debt Service Fund created by section
nine of this article and such other sources as may be legally
pledged for such purposes other than the West Virginia Infrastructure Revenue Debt Service Fund created by section
seventeen of this article.

(c) The council shall direct the Water Development Authority
to issue bonds in one or more series when it has approved
Chesapeake Bay watershed compliance projects and Greenbrier River
watershed compliance projects with an authorized permitted flow of
four hundred thousand gallons per day or more. The proceeds of the
bonds shall be used solely to pay costs of issuance, fund a debt
service reserve account, capitalize interest, pay for security
instruments necessary to market the bonds and to make grants to
governmental instrumentalities of the state for the construction of
approved Chesapeake Bay watershed compliance projects and
Greenbrier River watershed compliance projects. To the extent funds
are available in the West Virginia Infrastructure Lottery Revenue
Debt Service Fund that are not needed for debt service, the council
may direct the Water Development Authority to make grants to
project sponsors for the design or construction of approved
Chesapeake Bay watershed compliance projects and Greenbrier River
watershed compliance projects: Provided, That the council shall
direct the Water Development Authority to provide from moneys in
the Lottery Revenue Debt Service Fund not needed to pay debt
service in fiscal year 2013 a grant of $6 million to a Chesapeake
Bay watershed compliance project which opened bids on December 28,
2011, and further provided that such Chesapeake Bay watershed compliance project shall receive no further grant funding under
this section after receipt of the $6 million grant.

(d) No later than June 30, 2012, each publicly owned facility
with an authorized permitted flow of four hundred thousand gallons
per day or more that is subject to meeting Chesapeake Bay
compliance standards or Greenbrier River watershed compliance
standards shall submit to the council a ten-year projected capital
funding plan for Chesapeake Bay watershed compliance projects or
Greenbrier River watershed compliance projects, as the case may be,
including a general project description, cost estimate and
estimated or actual project start date and project completion date,
if any. The council shall timely review the submitted capital
funding plans and forward approved plans to the Water Development
Authority for further processing and implementation pursuant to
this article. If the council finds a plan to be incomplete,
inadequate or otherwise problematic, it shall return the plan to
the applicant with comment on the plan shortcomings. The applicant
may then resubmit to council an amended capital funding plan for
further consideration pursuant to the terms of this subsection.

(e) Upon approval, each proposed Chesapeake Bay watershed
compliance project or Greenbrier River watershed compliance
project, or portion of a larger project, which portion is dedicated
to compliance with nutrient standards, or fecal coliform and
phosphorus standards, established for the protection and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay or the Greenbrier River
watershed, as the case may be, shall be eligible for grant funding
by funds generated by the infrastructure lottery revenue bonds
described in subsection (b) of this section. At the request of the
applicant, the remaining percentage of project funding not
otherwise funded by grant under the provisions of this article may
be reviewed as a standard project funding application.

(f) No later than December 1, 2012, the Water Development
Authority shall report to the Joint Committee on Government and
Finance the total cost of Chesapeake Bay watershed compliance
projects and the Greenbrier River watershed compliance projects and
the proposed grant awards for each eligible project. From the
proceeds of bonds issued under subsection (b) of this section, the
council shall direct the Water Development Authority to make grants
to eligible projects ready to proceed to construction and those
grant awards shall be pro rated to an equal percentage of total
eligible costs among all applicants for each eligible project as
certified by the Water Development Authority in its report to the
Joint Committee on Government and Finance dated November 26, 2012:
Provided, That the final project, and its financing, is consistent
with the scope of the eligible project included in the council's
approval on December 5, 2012.

(g) Eligible projects that have obtained project financing
prior to December 31, 2012, may apply to the council for funding under the provisions of this section. These applications shall be
processed and considered as all other eligible projects, and a
grant funding awarded shall, to the extent allowed by law, be
dedicated to prepay all or a portion of debt previously incurred by
governmental instrumentalities of the state for required Chesapeake
Bay nutrient removal projects or Greenbrier River watershed fecal
coliform and phosphorus removal projects, subject to the bond
covenants and contractual obligations of the borrowing governmental
entity. However, any private portion of funding provided by
agreement between a political subdivision and one or more private
entities, either by direct capital investment or debt service
obligation, shall not be eligible for grant funding under the
provisions of this article.
Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2016 Regular Session
The West Virginia Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.